


Festival of Colors

by AliceinHyruleBastion



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Canon Divergence, Character Study, I liked writing it so have it, M/M, Relationship Study, Soulmate AU: strings of fate, this is incredibly self indulgent but honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-04 20:13:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18819904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceinHyruleBastion/pseuds/AliceinHyruleBastion
Summary: Strings of fate are a wonderful, curious, and dangerous creation all at once.How they bind, match, search, and connect hearts and lives from miles- or even inches- apart, dazzling and lovely.(Character study/relationship study, party shenanigans, fountain misadventures, and just general light-hearted nonsense with a dash of exuberant (and slightly exhibitionist) Magis!)





	Festival of Colors

**Author's Note:**

> Is anyone still here in this fandom? Maybe?? Well
> 
> Anyway, this was both a birthday present as well as a first endeavor into Magi for me, so this is essentially a massive-ass character study and practice in writing these peeps for the first time! (Spoiler alert: I love writing Aladdin) 
> 
> Two things:  
> 1.) Yes, I am aware that there is canon divergence here- I know that by the end of the Magnostadt arc Hakuryuu should be in bitchy revenge mode and wouldn't be as well...... how he is, but I wanted to write a bit of a reprieve BEFORE the shit fest soooooo ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> 2.) It's like that^^ because I based this off of the second Magi opening with the giant banquet + Holi, so I wanted a clusterfuck of people here and there ya go!! 
> 
> So in essence: this is right before shit hits the fan + me testing out my character writing, so just take this for the light-hearted fun thing that it is!!  
> I hope you enjoy- I had a lot of fun!!

Strings of fate are a wonderful, curious, and dangerous creation all at once.

 

They bear the path of the Rukh, twisting around fingers and wrists in glittering strands that twined and draped across the stones of the road, marking those Fate brought together. Friends and family with shining strings around their wrists as they connect to each other, while lovers- no matter how stubborn, no matter how tragic, no matter how forced apart- were bound around the delicate ring finger, all in coiling, dazzling crimson.

 

Some may be born with the soul, some may be gained, and some may be lost, but it is all at the whim of the Rukh.

 

In special cases, however, two more colors appeared: black and white-gold.

Djinn left their own special marks on their Capturers, leaving thin marks around the fingers of their owners like stacking rings, stark and bold. (Those with multiple were hard to miss, all beringed in bands of obsidian black.)

 

The last were even fewer, shining with their own unique light:

The strings of the Magi to their loved ones, shifting as time passed them but forever leaving their marks in silvery scars should they pass on. (The strand of a left wrist bore the scar of an murdered, adopted mother, stained in the tears of his adopted family but also their love, and so it was worn with pride.)  And- the most coveted of all Magi marks- the thin, dainty strands crowning their Kings Candidates in circlets of beautiful gold.

 

However, the strings are only seen by those four Magi on a constant basis, only visible to humans through either extreme meditation (and even then, only those of magical blood can achieve that vision) or during events of dense concentrations of Rukh, fluttering and glowing against the sun.

 

One such event was held in the heart of Sindria, where a flock of Rukh- both black and white, though the former was easily overrun by pure white- gathered at the peak of the spring equinox as the world began to warm again. It was of no surprise that such a festival should occur at the core of King Sinbad’s land, where his singularity ran through the country like golden-ichor blood, and yet it drew many hundreds of visitors from all over for just a chance to glimpse the illustrious and holy Rukh-

 

And, of course, to see their strings.

(Proposals were a common occurrence in the month of March after the appearance of delicate red strings tied around matching fingers.)

 

Aladdin was beyond ecstatic to finally be able to see the festival Ugo had told him of, speaking of a similarly joyous day in the age of Solomon that brought cultures and family together from all over. To say he was elated was an understatement as he sat on the edge of the bed Sinbad had given to them, staring out the window and humming as he combed through his hair. He’d always been fascinated by the strings he’d seen the minute he emerged from the library, tugging at the two glowing gold strands glowing warmly around his wrist, only blinded when he realized they were _everywhere_ in this world. (He had no strands around his ring fingers that he could see thus far, but he had no ideas of that kind at the moment.)

 

He wasn’t surprised in the least to find his own leading to the boisterous Alibaba and the stoic Morgiana, unable to fully explain how he’d been so drawn to them the first day he met them without sounding strange. He’d watched the brightly burning crimson strand around Alibaba’s wrist fizzle and snap the minute Kassim had disintegrated in his arms, and Aladdin had sworn he’d never heard a worse sound than that of Alibaba wailing in tune to the shrieking snap of Rukh and string.

 

It was also of no surprise that Alibaba bore Aladdin’s crown of a King, glowing in a spun-gold contrast to his wild hair, and he thought it suited the boy.

(He also wasn’t surprised by the crimson thread that pooled between Alibaba and Morgiana, strong and warm around their fingers, but he decided to keep that part to himself.)

 

Aladdin just loved _people_ and their stories in a way that he shared with Sinbad, but Aladdin cared more about the strings than he did (though he supposed it wasn’t strange as he wasn’t able to see them constantly like Aladdin), but his favorite thing in the world was to watch relationships grow and shift, new strings arriving and tying in the fluttering chirps of Rukh that left Aladdin smiling.

 

His favorite shift by far was the one of his dear friend Titus, who once bore an interesting string of his own between him and the late Lady Scheherazade that twined around both of his arms in a mix of blood red and Magi’s gold until the day they both passed and he was reborn. Aladdin watched- through a mix of joy, relief, and elation- as the reincarnated Titus emerged from the sky with hair and strands tangling around him, beaming as Titus’ eyes went wide in doe-eyed shock and confusion and intrigue as he studied the gentle strings curling from around his hands.

 

_“What are these?”_ he’d asked Aladdin after being crushed in a massive hug, pulling him aside as he twirled the strands around his fingers. _“They look like the Rukh, almost, but don’t feel exactly the same.”_

 

Aladdin laughed, planting his hands on his hips. _“Did Lady Scheherazade never talk about the Rukh’s strings?_ **_Every_ ** _Magi has the ability to see them!”_

 

Aladdin tilted his head as he studied Titus, who blinked owlishly before scrunching his nose in dainty confusion as he thought. (There was a mix of both the original Titus and Lady Scheherazade in this new Magi, in both looks and gestures aside as well as their gentle personalities, but this version was undeniably _Titus,_ the _Magi.) “That’s right… I keep forgetting that that’s what I am now. Are the Rukh always this- well- visible? It’s like they follow me.”_

 

Aladdin grinned. _“You’re a Magi now, so of course they follow you! You’re a source of divinity and fate, and so they stick to us like glue.”_

 

_“And these strings?”_

 

_“You’ve never heard of them? Not even once?”_

 

Titus shook his head. _“I’m not so old, you know-”_ he cracked a teasing smile- _“after all, I’m barely two.”_

 

Both of them laughed this time, and the Rukh responded in kind. _“These strings are what connect everyone, Titus; they tell the truth of the Rukh, but I’m sure you know that Fate can be fickle here and there.”_

 

Titus squinted. _“So these are…?”_ He lifted his hands, examining the three strands coiling around his arms.

 

Aladdin nodded. _“Your precious people. See, I have them too!”_ Aladdin shucked up the robe of his sleeve to display his arms, showing him where his- now four- strings glowed in gold against his skin. _“These ones of this wrist are for you and Sphintus, while this wrist are for Alibaba-kun and Morg-san.”_ He beamed as Titus looked at them in awe.

 

_“So then these are for… you guys?”_ he asked, lifting his hands, and Aladdin nodded again.

 

_“This one’s for me-”_ he tugged on the one that connected his left wrist to Titus’ right- _“while those two are for Marga and Sphintus.”_

 

Titus let out a quiet hum of gentle admiration as he twined them around his fingers. He paused, then, before knitting his eyebrows. _“Why’s this one different, then? Is something wrong with it?”_ He rubbed at the string that was wrapped around one of his ring fingers, frowning and confused.

 

Aladdin blinked before he sucked on his lip, eventually failing to restrain a giggle as he shuffled close to Titus’ side. _“These are saved for_ **_special_ ** _people,”_ Aladdin started with a teasing emphasis, poking at it. _“Some people say they’re your soulmate, if you get what I mean.”_

 

Titus looked up at him, squinting and utterly perplexed before Aladdin reached out to separate that string from the others and pulling lightly at it, drawing Titus’ eye to where it went taut. Titus looked over to where Sphintus was sitting down with Marga, leaning forward to talk excitedly with her about something Aladdin and Titus couldn’t hear, and Aladdin tugged gently on the strand.

 

Titus’ mouth opened, closed, and then quietly spluttered as he tracked the golden strand that glowed gently around Sphintus’ finger where he was gesturing wildly toward Marga, who was giggling.

 

Aladdin had burst out into bright laughter as Titus parsed in the information and blushed bright red, messy and oh-so human.

 

“What are you humming about over there? Somethin’ outside?” a voice suddenly said, pulling Aladdin out of the memory abruptly. He turned to see Alibaba peering at him, legs crossed under him as he leaned on his thigh, chin propped in his palm. Aladdin grinned. “The festival’s tomorrow; I’m just excited!”

 

Alibaba’s face brightened. “Oh yeah, Sinbad mentioned that earlier today,” he said, looking over when Morgiana huffed in her sleep and curled in on herself on her side of the bed. Aladdin smiled when he saw Alibaba’s thumb unconsciously rub against the string tied around his finger. “Something about us being able to see the strings, right?”

 

Aladdin nodded, turning fully to face him. “The Rukh will gather heavily enough for everyone to see them, and while I’ve heard of it, I’m curious to see the whole web and how people react to it.” He pulled his hair forward, combing through it and separating it into three strands.

 

“Hey, want some help with that? I’m good with my hands, you know!” Aladdin gave him a flat, dubious (and teasing) look, hands pulling his hair away from him protectively until Alibaba pouted at him, faux-insulted. Aladdin giggled before shuffling forward and turning around, carefully re-sectioning it and humming when Alibaba gently ran his hands through it. “Don’t move again, alright? I don’t wanna braid it crookedly!”

 

“You’ll be okay, Alibaba-kun- don’t panic so much,” Aladdin insisted, smiling when he heard Alibaba huff behind him.

 

Eventually they both fell into a relaxed silence as Alibaba masterfully wove through Aladdin’s hair, silently tapping at his shoulder for the next section without a word as he worked. Throughout the braiding, Aladdin twined his strings into the sections before handing them back, smiling as the glowing strands hummed against his arms as they ran up them and slowly twined through his hair. While he knew Alibaba wouldn’t be able to see them until tomorrow, Aladdin was happy at the thought that he helped weave them into his hair, a symbol of pride as a Magi.

 

All four of them had their strings carefully woven through their long hair in a display of their connections, an old tradition that followed even the eldest of them through countless generations:

 

Yunan’s hair was so light that his strands could almost barely be seen, and he wore many scars on his arms from his many reincarnations;

 

Aladdin, of course, wore them with joy, adding onto the intricate braid as his two newest strands appeared so that they formed a gorgeous tapestry amongst his blue hair;

 

Titus had them woven through many smaller braids, which had been tied in by a clumsily-giddy Marga, a snickering Sphintus, and a demonstrating Aladdin while Titus was pink in overwhelmed happiness (it hadn’t been hard to make the strings appear with two Magi present, and Marga had delightedly clapped when the golden Rukh swirled around the room, though Aladdin noticed Titus bashfully hiding his hands in his sleeves from a distracted Sphintus);

 

Even Judar had his strings, though Aladdin had only caught sight of a single thin strand glowing through his dark hair that Aladdin couldn’t discern a source of, though his memories of the Magi were between pain-addled vision and passing interactions.

 

They were a story in themselves, the strings of fate, just as much as the Rukh themselves in how they carried the souls of those who’d passed, and Aladdin loved every story that he could find:

 

The swath of red that curled around a happy, bubbling family (some had matching eyes and hair, some were patchwork, some were small, some were big, yet all were warm and golden); the twines of ribboning reds between lovers, some hidden in pockets or tucked under rings as fingers intertwined; caught in the laughing mess of two giggling children as they dashed through the crowd and under arms and legs of chastising adults, and more and more. He was drawn to the broken strings as well, heart aching and heavy, but they were still proof of a story of love that existed even when it was gone.

 

After all, humans will change, and humans will grow and heal-

And Aladdin loved it _all._

 

“Hey, woah woah, you’re leaning on me- wait, hello? Aladdin?” Alibaba poked at Aladdin’s shoulder, leaning around to peer at him. “Of _course_ you fell asleep,” he muttered, a grin on his face, and he tied off the braid with a laugh before carefully shifting Aladdin off of him to lie on his side much more comfortably. “Goodnight, you two,” he whispered, shifting to blow out the candle and stretching out onto the bed to stare up at the ceiling.

 

It was only a few minutes after he’d shut his eyes that he felt something brush his knuckles, and he blindly opened his hand to accept Aladdin’s searching fingers. Combined with the warmth of Morgiana’s back to his, he smiled, and squeezed Aladdin’s hand gratefully.

_(I’m glad we’re all back together again- still safe.)_

 

_\--------_

 

It was a richly warm and neon day with the beginning of the Festival of Colors, a harbinger of good fortune and halcyon days that had Aladdin giddy with excitement.

 

The majority of Sindria was wreathed in ornaments and lanterns alike, small flags and tinkling lines of bells blowing gently in the wind as hundreds of colors exploded through the streets. The palace alone was a symphony of color, and from where Aladdin was peering over the balcony of the courtyard to the street below, he was overwhelmed by _life._

 

He was used to the strings, of course, but there was something entirely new and magical seeing them twining and curling around dance partners and laughing friends entirely unbeknownst to them, and he faintly wondered if they’d trip over them once they appeared before them. He shrugged the thought off and smiled instead, leaning his chin into the palm of his hand.

 

“What are you smiling at?” a gentle voice said behind him, and he peered over his shoulder with a dawning grin as he saw Yamuraiha waiting for him, a hand propped on her hip. She’d dressed in different attire for the night, forgoing her typical magician’s uniform for a more relaxed- yet still elegantly revealing- white dress that was accentuated by her free-flowing hair. The smile on Aladdin’s face shifted into something more lascivious as he eyed the rather large dip into her cleavage, and she only scowled at him  before crossing her arms. “I have a call waiting for you from Reim, but if you’re more insistent on being an ogling pervert I’ll just tell them you’re busy!”

 

Aladdin’s face fell. “Yam, I was just messing around-!”

 

She leaned down into his face and squinted at him. He rubbed at the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

 

_“There_ he is! Jeez, you slipped away from us like a ghost!” came Alibaba’s voice from across the square, where he was waving at the the two of them as he and Morgiana weaved their way past attendants and other party members toward them.

 

“There’s too many people,” Morgiana mumbled, and Yamuraiha laughed.

 

“It’s the Festival of Colors; to say it’s crowded would be a woeful understatement,” she said, and Morgiana gave her a flat expression that Aladdin had come to learn was her version of a withering stare.

 

“Uh, is your hand _supposed_ to be glowing?” Alibaba said, pointing at the gem concealed in Yamuraiha’s hand that shone through the cracks of her fingers.

 

She started as if suddenly remembering why she’d come over and shifted the gem into her palm, watching as it softly glowed red. “You know what to do with this, right?” she asked, and Aladdin grinned widely.

 

“Of _course_ I do!”

 

She giggled. “I know, I know, I’m only teasing,” she said, before depositing the gem into Aladdin’s carefully outstretched hands. “Once you’re done just come find me, alright? I’ll be by the tables at the King’s side.” She squeezed his shoulder with warmth in her eyes before a call of her name made her turn, face going from confused to irritated in the span of a second. “The festival’s barely started and he’s already tipsy? You’ve got to be _joking…”_

 

_“Oi, water-wings, c’mere! I wanna have a duel!”_ Sharrkan bellowed from where he leaned over the wall just beside the steps that led to the King’s table, waving a half-filled glass of some kind of alcohol.

  


“Don’t do you dare get started with that, booze-for-brains!” she yelled back, hands fisting in the sides of her dress as she stormed toward his direction, much to the inebriated Sharrkan’s delight that spread over his face stickily.

 

(Aladdin watched the red thread between them shift and pull as she stalked toward him, pooling down the stairs and clashing against white of her dress her fingers were tucked into and the lazy twining of the glass handle Sharrkan’s fingers were curled into and smiled secretively.)

 

“Are you going to answer?” Morgiana interrupted, and he jumped, snapping his attention back to the gem in his hand. His mouth opened in a soft _o_ before he grinned, curling his fingers around it before summoning the faintest hum of magic to resonate and connect with the device.

 

It warmed and shifted colors, bringing with it a hazy image and the blurry buzz of a voice that Aladdin faintly recognized as Titus before it solidified into a final image of the perplexed Magi. _“Hello, can anyone hear me? Aladdin?”_

 

_“Titus!_ It’s good to see you,” Aladdin chirped, and Titus’ eyes skipped to him, widening in realization before he smiled. “How are you doing?”

 

_“It hasn’t been so long since we parted ways, you know,”_ he teased, and Aladdin huffed.

 

“It’s been long enough for me to miss you,” he complained, and Titus laughed richly, the sound like bells through the connection.

 

_“I can’t argue with that, I guess,”_ Titus relented, and Aladdin beamed. _“Oh, are those your other two strings? Alibaba and Morgiana?”_ he suddenly asked, peering over Aladdin’s shoulder.

 

Aladdin turned, blinking, before he registered what he meant by the sight of Alibaba and Morgiana’s confused expressions. “Come here, you two, and say hi properly! I know you’ve already met him briefly, Alibaba-kun, but come here anyway!” They nodded, and slowly slid forward toward where Aladdin extended the orb; Alibaba waved wildly while Morgiana dipped her head in a polite bow.  

 

Titus’ face softened at the sight of them, flicking back over to Aladdin as he traced the strands that glowed up his arms and curled through his dark hair. _“It’s a pleasure to see you two,”_ he said, _“and I’m glad you’re doing well. I wish I could’ve come to Sindria to see the festival myself, but with tensions and other matters in Reim I had to address I decided the best course of action was to remain here.”_

 

“That’s not your fault, so don’t worry about it,” Alibaba said brightly, and a smile warmed over Titus’ face.

 

_“I do hope you two enjoy it, though; you haven’t seen the strings before, am I right?”_

 

Alibaba and Morgiana shook their heads, but Morgiana fiddled with the hem of her dress nervously. “I’ve always heard stories about them but didn’t get the hype, but now that I’m _here_ I suddenly feel…. excited? I dunno, does that make sense?” Alibaba scrubbed at the back of his neck, eyebrows knit.

 

“I feel the same way,” Morgiana added, hands smoothing down the fabric at her front. “The idea of strings and soulmates was always a far away fancy when I was in captivity, but being able to enjoy it without reservation is incredibly enticing.” She paused when she noticed how Aladdin and Alibaba’s faces both fell before she vehemently shook her head. “I’m _happy_ to be here with you now, since you gave me the ability to be free; the past is just the past.”

 

Aladdin and Titus exchanged a silent look as they watched the string between them pulse and hum for a sixteenth beat of a heartbeat.

 

Titus cleared his throat. _“Well, since you two-”_

 

_“YO, ALADDIN!”_

 

The new voice that erupted through the call made all three of them jump, though none as badly as Titus, who squeaked pitifully before glaring at an utterly shit-grinned Sphintus with a giggling Marga on his shoulders.

 

_“Why didn’t you say anything before coming in?”_ Titus hissed, the view of his face warped as Sphintus shoved into the frame to squint at Aladdin, a single green eye blinking curiously at him.

 

_“If I did, then that would defeat the purpose of trying to scare you,”_ Sphintus commented, blasé yet restraining laughter on his face as he turned back to Aladdin. _“How’s it going, Chibi?”_

 

_“I was in the middle of a conversation!”_

 

_“Well, now I’m ALSO part of the conversation!”_

 

_“Sphintus, that’s not how this works.”_

 

_“The lil’ shit’s my friend too! Actually,_ **_I_ ** _was friends with him first!”_

 

_“Hey, Titus said you aren’t supposed to say that! That’s a bad word!”_

 

_“For you, maybe, but not me- OW!”_

 

The three of them watched the exchange between the Reim residents with rapt amusement, and Aladdin burst out laughing as Sphintus pouted at Titus, rubbing his ear where Titus had chidingly tugged at his earring. Marga giggled from atop his shoulders, and even Kukulcan looked attentive from where he was coiled carefully around her lap.

 

_“This is just abuse, you know,”_ Sphintus complained, and Titus rubbed at his face. (There was the faintest smile of a laugh hiding behind his fingers, however, and Aladdin grinned.)

 

“If that were the case, you could easily leave,” Aladdin pointed out helpfully, and Sphintus narrowed his eyes at him, mouth opening for a second before he grumbled.

 

_“Yeah, but if I did that then who’d help this little squirt out? I think she’d just wear Titus down without me!”_ he said, and Titus shook his head at the orb.

 

_“You two are too much,”_ he mumbled, _“and you’re going to corrupt Marga at this rate!”_ There was a faux-disapproving smile on his face, but no venom to his words.

 

_“You wouldn’t have any of us any other way, though,”_ Sphintus teased, slinging an arm around Titus and finally making him laugh.

 

“They’re certainly lively,” Morgiana commented, and Aladdin huffed a laugh when he caught the smile ticking at her lips.

 

_“Ooh, who’s that pretty girl? I wanna say hi- her hair makes her look like a princess!”_ Marga cheerfully called, shoving Sphintus’ head down violently in an attempt to lean toward the orb with wide eyes. The abrupt action made Titus smother a laugh behind his hand as a strangled noise slipped from Sphintus’ mouth, and Kukulcan fixed his owner with a silent, reptilian stare of amusement.

 

Morgiana blushed instantly, pointing a finger at herself. “Do you- do you mean me?” she spluttered, and Marga nodded, apparently not hearing the groan emerging from Sphintus as she shoved his neck down.

 

_“Marga, please don’t break his neck- come here,”_ Titus gently instructed, reaching out to remove her from Sphintus’ shoulders and instead prop her on his hip. She seemed unaware of the position change as she peered at Morgiana curiously, while Titus lightly rested his hand on Sphintus’ shoulder in an attempt to catch his eye as Sphintus wheezed unattractively.

 

_“What’s your name?_ **_My_ ** _name’s Marga, and I’m from Magnostadt!”_

 

Aladdin smiled as he watched Morgiana stammer out a reply in red-face embarrassment at the attention, seeing Alibaba’s face brighten at her reaction. Titus was mouthing something to Sphintus behind Marga as she babbled at Morgiana, and Sphintus only flashed him a toothy grin and a thumbs up even despite his faint wince as Kukulcan settled back around his neck.

 

The conversation continued on for a while just like that, bouncing back and forth as they shifted from other sweet nothings with nothing more than the intent to talk about the mundane so long as they could each other, and it wasn’t long before a call from Titus’ side of the call drew him away from the orb. His face fell, and he sighed deeply before looking back over to Aladdin. _“I’m afraid what little free time I had has been taken up,”_ he said, _“so unfortunately I have to leave to attend to some work.”_

 

_“Ugh, don’t tell me that means_ **_I_ ** _have to-”_

 

_“You already know the rest of that sentence, Sphintus.”_

 

A revolted expression crossed Sphintus’ face that had the whole party laughing, his disgust at working so potent that even Titus couldn’t help a laugh.

 

_“It won’t kill you, you know!”_

 

Sphintus blew out a loud breath, propping his hands on his hips. _“And how would you know, being so busy runnin’ around all the time that both of us barely see you?”_

 

A look of shocked hurt flickered over Titus’ face before he slowly sighed, and Aladdin watched as his strings hummed and glowed in reaction, like a stubborn familiar reminding him of something he’d forgotten.

 

_“High Priest, we need you!”_

 

The Reim residents flinched, and Titus huffed. _“Give me a moment, please- I’ll be out in a second!”_ Titus called over his shoulder, before throwing a quiet _“We’ll talk about this later,”_ to the boy at his side. He turned back to Aladdin and the others with a softening smile, bidding them all goodbye.

 

“We’ll talk again soon, right?” Aladdin asked eagerly, and Titus blinked.

 

_“We’ll see, but I am rather busy at the moment trying to adjust to my new role; I promise to keep you updated to the best of my ability, and I’m_ **_sure_ ** _Marga would love it if I called you more often.”_ The second half of his sentence was laced in a sugary warmth that had Marga grinning from where she was still propped on his hip.

 

_“Bye-bye Aladdin and his pretty friends! I’ll miss you!”_ she called, and Aladdin smiled back at her before waving. Titus then dipped his head in a polite bow as Sphintus saluted them off, and the connection went dead. Aladdin’s face fell slightly, and looked down at his strings to catch Titus’ between his fingers and thumb at it worriedly.

 

The tense moment was broken went Alibaba spluttered out a _“Did she just call me pretty?”_ that made Aladdin snort before regarding both of them with a meaningful, silent expression. Morgiana and Alibaba went matching shades of scarlet, and Aladdin delightedly felt their strings warm and tingle against his skin in echoing embarrassment.

 

“I’m going to return this to Yam, so why don’t you two grab a good place to sit before everyone else floods in? We have to get a good place where we can see everything!” Aladdin suddenly chirped, and both of them lit up in their own particular ways: Alibaba was close to literal, with the strand across his brow glowing in his excitement as a crooked smile warmed his face and fervor lit his eyes, while Morgiana’s was nearly imperceptible should someone have missed how she excitedly twined her hands in her dress as a tiny smile quirked at her lips.

 

“C’mon, let’s go get food!” Alibaba said, a hand landing on Morgiana’s elbow that only made her flush pinker. “I’m starving as it is.” She nodded, and he grinned, before waving Aladdin off and leading her toward the direction of the tables that overlooked the opposite side of the plaza.

 

Aladdin did his best to restrain his smile as he squeezed Yamuraiha’s orb in his palm and headed toward the direction of Sinbad’s table.

 

***

 

Throughout all of the people Aladdin had ever met, King Sinbad certainly bore the most amount of strings he’d ever seen. They were always dazzling from where they twined around him, and Aladdin was dizzy from how many there were:

 

His eight strongest bonds were shared between him and his generals, each a burning red that shone in a Magi-like golden sheen due to his singularity, snaking from his sleeves and coiling onto the stones as he talked. The brightest of the eight of course belonged to his right hand and advisor, who wore them braided into the strings of his blades and could wield them just as dangerously (Aladdin had seen it first hand, when Sharrkan decided to get a little too rowdy after one particular banquet). Aladdin couldn’t ever tell just where the string tied as Ja’far kept his hands hidden in his sleeves, but he was well aware of the rather salacious rumours surrounding Sinbad and Ja’far that had the former laughing as Ja’far glared with irritation sparking in his eyes that matched the shade of his scowl.

 

Amongst those strands, Sinbad also bore the King’s circlet of Yunan, which glowed softly around his forehead and complemented the violet of his hair before sneaking up into his turban and tying delicately around his wrist. His rings hid the majority of his Djinn marks, yet some peeked through in scintillating black, stacking on top of other marks depending on which hand was closest to the vessel; his generals’ strings tied around the hand where their corresponding Djinn had marked their king.

 

Sixteen strings that Aladdin could see at the moment, though there may have been strings that faded or snapped or even others that were hidden away in the folds of clothes, but the king of Sindria certainly was enigma in himself that seemed to radiate in the definition of _extravagant._

 

(An energy like the Rukh reverberated around him, commanding and bright, but sometimes Aladdin wasn’t sure just which color it was.)

 

“Oh, what brings you up here, Aladdin? Weren’t you just with Morgiana and Alibaba?” a quiet voice broke in, making Aladdin start.

 

Perhaps it was the lingering traces of an assassin’s training, but Aladdin would never be quite used to how _silent_ Ja’far was when he moved.

 

“I was looking for Yam! She said to meet me up here, but I’m not sure where she went…. I just saw her come over here a second ago, I swear!” Aladdin replied, huffing. “I need to return this to her; I don’t want to lose it, ‘cause she’ll bite my head off.”

 

Ja’far blinked at the stone in Aladdin’s hand before he looked around, scouring the floor for the aforementioned magician and frowning. “Weren’t she and Sharrkan just arguing a minute ago, Sin?” he called over his shoulder, and Aladdin peered around him to watch as Sinbad shook his head.

 

“Didn’t _you_ send them out somewhere?” Sinbad asked, though this was directed to Hinahoho, who’d previously been speaking with the king before Aladdin approached.

 

Hinahoho hummed. “I did, but it was mostly out of desire to make it less noisy in here,” he said, rubbing at his chin. “Now it’s eerily quiet, and it’s a bit... disconcerting.”

 

Ja’far sighed deeply, shaking his head. Sinbad, however, snorted under his breath, earning a flash of a glare from Ja’far. “What? I’d rather they do their business _elsewhere,_ if you get what I mean.”

 

_“Sin,”_ Ja’far chided, and Sinbad grinned childishly; Hinahoho bit back a laugh, and Aladdin chirped a giggle.

 

“Since they aren’t here, may I try something instead?” Aladdin chimed in, hands clasping behind his back.

 

Sinbad cocked his head. “What did you have in mind?”

 

Aladdin grinned before pointing to his hand. “Though I know Yam can’t use a household vessel, which one does Sharrkan use? I should be able to find them if I follow their strings.”

 

Hinahoho looked impressed, and Sinbad raised an eyebrow. “Hm, I never thought about that, though I suppose being able to see the strings constantly would shape a different mindset, ” he said, lifting his hand to scrutinize the silver bracelet glittering there. “Focalor resides here.”

 

Aladdin nodded and tracked the thin strand that coiled down onto the ground from that hand, disregarding Ja’far’s string as Aladdin stepped over it. Reaching down, Aladdin carefully caught the string and smiled as he registered the familiar hum of Sharrkan’s energy, pausing to looking for Yamuraiha’s thread and letting out a victorious _Aha!_ as hers hummed quietly for his attention where it was woven beside Sharrkan’s.

 

Aladdin paused, chewing on his lip as he focused, not noticing the curious looks from the others around him. “Ooh, are you playing with their strings?” Pisti- who’d suddenly appeared beside him with a hunk of bread in her fist- asked, bright eyes curious as they flicked around to look at something she couldn’t see.

 

“Yup! I know it must look a little strange at the moment, but it’ll work, I promise!” he said cheerfully, before starting to follow where their strands wound down the stairs and around the corner. “I’ll be right back- thank you for help, _Oji-san!”_ he called to Sinbad, waving to the others before he started down the stairs.

 

_Off to catch a Yam, a lovely Yam,_ Aladdin sang to himself, tracing their strings down the stones and winding around the building, _but oh, where did she go?_ He laughed to himself at his silly song, following the glowing strings further and further into the back alleys of the plaza.

 

He grinned once he registered that they were close, the strings chirping with the same song as the Rukh as he sharply turned a corner and nearly stumbled as he finally found them:

 

_“You know, if you really wanted to fight me, you shouldn’t have gotten yourself piss drunk.”_

 

_“I mean…. who said I wanted to_ **_fight_ ** _you?”_

 

_“You did, you idiot.”_

 

_“....Did I?”_

 

_“Wow. They really focus more on looks than brains in Heliohapt, now don’t they?”_

 

_“Is that your roundabout way of calling me pretty?”_

 

_“No- No! That’s not what I meant-”_

 

_“It’s what you said, though!”_

 

_“Do you WANT me to smack you upside the head?”_

 

_“It’s not like I’d mind it, coming from you.”_

 

_“Jeez, how much of that stuff did you drink, talking out of your ass like that?”_

 

_“Wait, did I just say that out loud? Ah fuck, I think I’m drunker than I thought….”_

 

Aladdin pressed a fist to his mouth to keep from laughing as he peeked further around the corner, spying on the two. Presently, Yamuraiha had her hands planted on her hips as she scowled at Sharrkan, who was scrubbing a confused hand through his hair. His back was to the wall as if her presence nailed him there alone, and Aladdin could see the string that bound them together glowing dimly in the alley. Considering the staggering height difference between them, it was an amusing juxtaposition as she glared him into submission.

 

_“Dammit, this isn’t how I wanted this to go.”_

 

_“Wanted WHAT to go?”_

 

Sharrkan scrunched his nose, shaking his head, before a crooked grin slid over his face. _“Nothin’, nothin’. ‘Sides, I think I had some plans with a couple of those dancers before the festival started.”_

 

She threw her hands up in the air. _“Then what the hell was the point of you dragging my ass here, then?”_

 

_He’s trying to make you jealous, Yam,_ Aladdin silently giggled, though he felt empathetic toward the mess that was the inebriated Sharrkan.

 

_“Look, if you aren’t gonna fight me, then I’ll just go,”_ he hummed, spreading his hands innocently as he leaned back against the wall.

 

_“I don’t- you’re confusing me,”_ she argued, crossing her arms as she lifted her chin. _“First you WANT me here and now you don’t? Make up your damn mind!”_

 

Aladdin watched as Sharrkan opened his mouth, closed it, and then grumbled something under his breath as he looked away. Yamuraiha cocked an eyebrow before bodily leaning up into his face, making Sharrkan whip his head back with wide eyes and a red face to match. _“Um-”_ he coughed- _“what are you, uh….?”_

 

_“If you’ve got something to say, say it, or else my staff is going up somewhere rather unpleasant, Sharrkan,”_ she said lowly, looking impressively imposing even on her tiptoes.  Sharrkan only choked unattractively, and she knit her eyebrows. _“What, cat got your tongue?”_

 

_“No,”_ Sharrkan bit out meekly, and Aladdin shook his head, deciding to finally spare the poor man.

 

“Yam, I know you’re back here with Sharrkan, so I just wanna return your orb to you!” he hollered around the corner, and watched her jump away from Sharrkan as if she was burnt.

 

_“Holy-”_ Sharrkan wheezed, and Yamuraiha blushed vibrantly.

 

“It- it’s not what you’re thinking!” she forced out, but Aladdin just grinned.

 

“Okay, then,” he said loftily, and she glared at him even as he dropped the stone into his palm. As she examined it, Aladdin swiftly slid over to Sharrkan’s side and tugged on his tunic, making him jump before Aladdin leaned up to whisper in his ear. _“I recommend waiting for a better moment when you aren’t drunk to try and confess to her,”_ he said, laughing when Sharrkan spluttered out an incomprehensible reply.

 

“What?” she asked, confused, and Aladdin shrugged serenely.

 

“Nothing,” he said, even as Sharrkan continued emitting an odd assortment of flustered noises that she seemed to take absolutely no notice of, “though you might want to hurry back sooner rather than later; the festival should be starting soon, and you don’t want to miss your strings!”

 

“Go _away,”_ Sharrkan moaned, and Aladdin laughed again as Sharrkan buried his red face into his hands.

 

“See you two later!” Aladdin called, giggling at Yam’s perplexed expression, scampering back down the alley before either of them could chase after him.

 

_They’ll get if eventually…. well, if Yam doesn’t kill him first._ (The thought brought a smile to his face, and he found himself skipping as he made his way back to festival.)

 

***

 

By the time he made back to the plaza, people filled every corner of the space as the festival was in full swing, the sunset having finally melted away in the tell tale moments right before the moonlight brought about the Rukh and their strings. Aladdin navigated his way through the crowd in search of his companions, grinning when he found them seated at the tables just by the central fountain lost in some conversation.

 

Or, well, _Alibaba_ was the one rattling off something left and right with respectively expressive hand gestures while Morgiana nodded along, nibbling on some sweet confectionary she had in her hands. He waved wildly at them, and they both lit up when they registered him as he weaved his way toward them.

 

Eventually he plopped down beside Alibaba cheerfully, propping his face in his hands. “Did you two have fun while I was gone?” he asked, a sweetly-teasing tone to his voice the only indication of his true intent.

 

Morgiana pinked but said nothing, meanwhile Alibaba seemed not to catch his implication. “I was just tellin’ Morgiana about my time as a gladiator and how I got these,” he said brightly, despite the gruesome scars he revealed as he pulled up his sleeve. Aladdin’s face fell as he caught sight of barely-pink marks that littered his arm, rough and raised, and Alibaba’s expression faltered when he saw their reactions. “Wait, I wasn’t trying to make you two upset- I’m okay now, really! Hurt like hell when I got them, but it’s perfectly fine now.”

 

Morgiana scowled at him as he flexed his fingers. “You shouldn’t have been so careless,” she scolded, but Aladdin could hear the rest of the reply underneath it: _You need to be careful; we can’t lose you._

 

Alibaba huffed, sliding his sleeve back down before crossing his arms over his chest. “I _said_ I was fine, Morgiana,” he retorted, and she sighed, taking another bite of her sweets. “Besides, if Hakuryuu can bounce back from having his _arm_ sliced off, I think I’ll live with a few scars and some broken bones.”

 

Morgiana flinched subtly, but it was just enough for the boys to catch it. They squinted at her, but he pursed her lips and took another- albeit a more aggressive- bite of her food, stuffing the rest into her mouth in lieu of answering. Alibaba gave Aladdin a look, but he only shrugged.

 

“Oh, hey, speaking of, d’you know if any of the Rens are gonna be here anyway? I know there was some stuff happening internally, but I don’t know anything else other than that,” Alibaba asked, tapping at his chin.

 

“I think I saw Kougyoku with her advisor earlier,” Aladdin said, faintly remembering the sight of her bright hair and robes when he’d been strolling through the palace earlier that day. “I’m not sure about the others, though, but I’d definitely like to see Kouha again.”

 

Alibaba hummed. “I’m sure we can always ask, but chaos seems to follow us no matter _how_ crowded it gets,” he said blithely, pulling a faux-irritated face that melted into a laugh as Aladdin burst out laughing.

 

“That’s just the way of the Rukh, I suppose, though having a Magi stuck at your side probably doesn’t help,” Aladdin teased, and Alibaba dropped a hand on his head to slightly tug at the loose strands that escaped the confines of his braid. Aladdin whined and tried to pull away, earning a giggle from Morgiana.

 

The three continued talking, basking in the presence of each other and the hubbub of life around them in pinwheeling colors galore, and Aladdin smiled as he watched strings upon strings tangle and twist in time to footsteps and dancing alike. It would be time soon, from the way the Rukh hummed and sang excitedly in Aladdin’s ears as they began to concentrate, flocking toward such a large gathering of people. He smiled when he felt something flutter past his ear, catching sight of a streak of gold in the corner of his eye.

 

He couldn’t wait to see how Alibaba and Morgiana reacted to the strings, hoping they’d find them just as beautiful as he did.

(He also wondered just how their reaction for their string to each other would go, and he kicked his feet in excitement.)

 

“Hey, isn’t that…? Well, speak of the devil,” Alibaba suddenly said, gesturing toward the figure who stopped a couple, obviously asking them something they didn’t know as they shook their heads, leading to him huffing. Tracing the strings he saw winding around his arms, a light bulb of realization sparked in Aladdin’s mind as he recognized the energy of the strands, and smothered a surprised smile in his hand. _“Yo,_ over here!” Alibaba yelled, loud enough to startle Aladdin as he waved exuberantly, making the figure pause and blink in shock.

 

When it came to a strange collection of Rukh and energy, the Ren family was certainly no exception, particularly Ren Hakuryuu, whose Rukh hummed and chirped with a melody Aladdin was only now able to place. (They sang of hurt and fire and betrayal, but there was a licorice-black undercurrent of soot-covered peaches and raucous laughter.)

 

Hakuryuu looked at them with wide eyes, the twinkling lights above dancing over his scars enough to exacerbate the contrast between his pale skin and dark hair, and he looked ten seconds away from either bolting or freezing entirely. Eventually, he steeled himself and carefully made his way toward them, fingers fluttering at his side in apprehension that made Aladdin tilt his head.

 

“I wasn’t expecting you to be here, Hakuryuu,” Aladdin said gently once he approached the table, dipping into a faint bow before his hands folded behind his back. “Is all of your family here, or just a few of you?”

 

“My sister and Kouen apparently had some matters to discuss with Sinbad, so we decided to stay for the night before heading out,” he said, words as clipped yet soft-spoken as usual, yet something was making him pick at the nails of his non-wooden hand. “We won’t be staying too long, but Sinbad assured us that we should stay for the festival.”

 

“Well hey, talk about serendipity!” Alibaba said cheerfully, and Hakuryuu nodded, albeit a bit stiffly.

 

It clicked for Aladdin when he realized Hakuryuu was distancing himself from Morgiana, intending to politely give her space as opposed to ignoring her, and though her face remained still, Aladdin saw her absently rubbing at her fingers.

 

_I wonder what happened between those two…. They have no strings, but I suppose that doesn’t always dictate things._

 

“It’s good to see you,” Morgiana said quietly, and Hakuryuu smiled lightly, stance lightening just a touch.

 

“You as well,” he said, but there was something slightly taut in his smile that had Aladdin squinting. Hakuryuu cleared his throat then, eyes shifting back to the others. “I don’t mean to impose any more than I have, though I do have a question for you all since you’re here.”

 

Alibaba frowned, leaning back in his seat to fix him with an odd look. “You’re not _imposing_ on anything, so go ahead and ask!”

 

_(Oh Alibaba-kun, so oblivious at times,_ Aladdin silently chided.)

 

Hakuryuu blinked for a moment before realizing he hadn’t spoken, and his arms shifted to cross in front of him. “Have any of you seen Hakuei? I stopped for a moment to help someone and she disappeared.”

 

Morgiana shook her head as Alibaba hummed, thinking, and Aladdin pursed his lips. “I’m sorry, Hakuryuu, but I don’t think any of us have,” he said, and Hakuryuu’s face fell. “Alibaba said he saw Kougyoku earlier, however; have you tried asking her?”

 

Hakuryuu blew out a sigh. “I thought of that, but I wasn’t able to find her _or_ Ka Koubun, so I’ve been wandering in hopes of finding someone who saw her,” he said, eventually running a hand through his hair in frustration.

 

Whatever he was going to say next was cut off by a sudden rush of warmth and noise around them, and Aladdin looked up to see Sinbad standing, charisma on full as he prepared to speak. _“Citizens of Sindria, it’s nearly time for the Rukh to gather,”_ he started, voice somehow amplified _(Yam, most likely)_ so that it filtered over the crowd, attracting the attention of every festival-goer. _“Let their strings be revealed to us and show us the way of our connections: the good and the bad, the painful and the joyous, the past and the present.”_

 

It was a power in itself in how Sinbad was able to enchant an entire crowd with his voice alone, and even Aladdin couldn’t look away, the feeling of energy bubbling under his skin in the telltale song of Rukh nearby. “It’s nearly time!” Alibaba whispered excitedly, and Aladdin reached out to squeeze his hand in order to channel some of that excitement between them. (He looked over his shoulder at Morgiana with a warm smile as well, who smiled back, unlike Hakuryuu, who was too caught up in the grandeur of everything to catch Aladdin’s glance.)

 

_“Now, let us drink and dance together under the lights of the Rukh, everybody, no matter who you are or where you came from!”_ Sinbad finished, and Aladdin looked back to see him raising a goblet of something that had the audience cheering and toasting in time with him.

 

Just as the sound raised, a flush of incredibly potent energy rolled over Aladdin, and he gasped at the sensation before looking down at his now-tingling hands. _It’s so concentrated all of a sudden,_ he mused, and looked up just as a flood of Rukh soared down and danced above the heads of the crowd-

 

And from the sounds of awe and shock that erupted around him Aladdin guessed they were finally visible to everyone.

 

“Woah,” Alibaba breathed from beside him, and Aladdin looked over to see his eyes drop from the chittering Rukh fluttering above them to the strands around his hands, scrutinizing the black band of Amon around his middle finger. Alibaba’s eyes widened when he looked up at Aladdin, and a shocked expression colored his face. “Aladdin, your _hair!”_

 

Aladdin only grinned as Morgiana looked over at the sound of Alibaba’s voice, and he carefully pulled his braid forward to showcase the delicate lattice of strings that ran through it. His enthusiasm was infectious, and he felt an ineffable feeling well up in his chest as they both were overwhelmed by the sight.

 

“So these… are the strings? I don’t understand,” Hakuryuu suddenly mumbled, eyes fixated on his hands in bright confusion. He had three total, one of each kind, and he was tracing over them with a gently perplexed expression.

 

“Dude, why do you have three different colors?” Alibaba blurted, making Hakuryuu jump.

 

“Like you can talk, Alibaba-san,” Morgiana chided gently, and Alibaba looked down at his own strings to mumble a dumb _Oh._

 

“Gold are connections to a Magi, black are for the Djinn, and red are for other connections of the heart: family, lovers, friends, anyone with a strong bond to guide you,” Aladdin filled in, before reaching up to tap at his forehead in emphasis. “The string around your head marks you as a King’s Candidate, though,” he added, a smile on his face.

 

Aladdin watched as Hakuryuu’s face went from perplexed to panicked to shocked, looking down at his hands in wide-eyed understanding:

There was black, literally burnt into the middle finger of the arm Zagan granted him;

Red, humming with the warm familial energy that Aladdin was able to recognize as Hakuei draped around his wrist;

And gold, strung delicately across his temples in a careful crown that matched the strand that tied neatly around the ring finger of his normal hand.

 

“Wait, but the gold one isn’t connected to you, Aladdin, so who….?” Alibaba trailed off, just as Hakuryuu whipped around, searching for someone.

 

Rukh fluttered around Hakuryuu brighly, and Aladdin was once again struck by how expressive and _honest_ his were before a single black one landed on Hakuryuu’s shoulder as he caught sight of who he was looking for, and Aladdin smiled in quiet understanding.

 

Seated with his back against some old crates and tucked away at the edge of the crowd, Judar- the Black Magi, the Fallen- had his lone strand twined around his fingers in a game of Cat’s Cradle, holding it out to an awed Kougyoku who carefully reached out to press her finger into the center of the web Judar had created. With a swift movement, Judar slid his fingers out of the knots and trapped her finger in the strings, sticking his tongue  gleefully at her petulant expression; black Rukh flickered and sang delightedly around him.

 

Hakuryuu’s fingers twitched around the golden thread, tugging at it experimentally, and Judar stilled, knitting his eyebrows before looking up. Catching sight of Hakuryuu’s face, something twisted in Judar’s expression and he abruptly stood, ignoring Kougyoku and swiftly walking out of sight around the corner.

 

_“Son of a-”_ Hakuryuu hissed, immediately dashing after him, weaving his way around people with a flutter of Rukh drawing the eye of curious festival-goers.

 

_That’s a dangerous connection,_ Aladdin thought to himself, but he was smiling to himself nonetheless as he turned back to his own companions, laughing at the look of palpable confusion on Alibaba’s face. “What was _that_ all about?” Alibaba asked, curiously propping one hand on his hip. “Why is that guy even here anyway?”

 

“It’s a celebration of the Rukh, so it’s not unusual for Magis to be drawn here,” Aladdin explained, giggling as a stray Rukh from Alibaba fluttered past his cheek. “Three of us are here as it is, and Titus would’ve come if he wasn’t overrun with work.”

 

“I... _guess_ that makes sense,” Alibaba relented, rubbing at his chin, before the action caused him to catch sight of his own strings. He flexed his fingers curiously, Rukh humming in harmony. “So, I’ve got… two?” he started, tugging at his wrist, and Morgiana huffed a faint laugh.

 

“You forgot Amon, Alibaba-san,” she said, gesturing to his hand, and his eyes lit up in realization before he remembered it was there.  

 

“Djinn strings are just as important,” Aladdin teased, making Alibaba huff and shove his hands under his arms with a pout.

 

“It’s not like a _string_ string, okay? So I forgot!” he argued, and Aladdin was delighted to hear a quiet laugh slip out of Morgiana, making Alibaba light up. _“Hey!_ Don’t laugh at me!”

 

“I did no such thing,” she said flatly, but her hands were behind her back and a faint smile was flitting over face. Alibaba squinted at her, and she ducked her head shyly.

 

“Do you know if the Fanalis have their own tales about the strings, Morg-san?” Aladdin asked, leaning forward onto the table to peer at her. (Alibaba leaned back to poke at Aladdin’s braid, marveling at the four golden strands woven in between his dark hair.)  

 

She hummed, pausing in thought, before she turned slightly pink. She cleared her throat before continuing with a plain expression. “I don’t remember much from when I was in captivity, but Masrur told me about what he was taught once, about the ritual of finding your harmonic other based on your string.”

 

“What d’you mean?” Alibaba asked, leaning back forward to tilt his head. “Strings are just strings, I thought, right?”

 

Morgiana said nothing, but Aladdin noticed how she twined her red strand repeatedly around her fingers in an almost nervous tick, thick enough to obscure where her string binding her to Alibaba wrapped around her ring finger. Aladdin’s face fell just a small bit before he smiled again, turning to Alibaba. “I’ve already told you that there are three different colors of strings, but bonds and relationships are as multitudinous as different types of people,” he started, before gesturing beside their table to a family playing at the fountain. “See there? Red strings are for everyone, but there are different kinds; siblings and siblings, parents and their children, best friends, childhood friends, and so on. Look at them- what do you see?” he led, asking Alibaba.

 

“I mean, I see a family,” Alibaba said, and Aladdin laughed.

 

“Be more specific, Alibaba-kun!” he chided, and Morgiana laughed quietly.

 

“I see a pair of twins playing with another boy, but they don’t look the same,” she said, and Aladdin nodded.

 

“They’re all the same age, but look closely,” he said, smiling as he watched the three boys- two with jet-black hair and dark, dark skin laughing and teasing with the other boy, who was so pale that the shine of the Rukh made him seem to glow, long hair making him look more feminine than the other two- tug at each other’s strings and laugh as they tried to make the other fall into the fountain. Red on red on red- all tied brightly around the boys’ wrists back to the pair of parents watching them from where they were seated on the edge of the fountain with smiles on their faces. “All five of them are family, do you see?” Aladdin said, gesturing to the pale boy. “He may not look the same, but his Rukh and his strings carry the same warmth as the others, as he is as much of their son as the twins are.”

 

Alibaba paused in awe before he looked back over, squinting, before he shook his head with a laugh. “I mean, I can see the strings right now and all, but I don’t think I could’ve gotten _that_ much about them,” he admitted sheepishly, and Aladdin poked him.

 

“I have a bit more practice, you know,” he teased, before pointing at Alibaba’s head. “That’s another kind of a relationship too, but see how it connects here instead of here?” He traced the golden strand down to Alibaba’s wrist, tapping at the bone, before gesturing to the red thread tied around his ring finger.

 

“What was _this_ one again?” Alibaba asked, pointing at his head.

 

Aladdin beamed. “That means you’re my King!” he chirped, and Alibaba blinked before grinning, turning toward Morgiana, who wore a smile of her own.

 

“So that’s the same thing that Hakuryuu and Sinbad have, right?” Alibaba asked, laughing when Aladdin clambered up onto the bench and leaned down to press a teasing kiss to center of Alibaba’s head where the circlet glowed the brightest. Morgiana chuckled at the sight as Aladdin plopped back down with a megawatt grin, drawing a warm flutter of Rukh toward the three of them.

 

“Mmhm! Three King’s Candidates, but three different Magis,” Aladdin explained, and Alibaba nodded. “Magis can have multiple Candidates with whom they lend power to, but there’s also _one_ they share the strongest bond with; since you’re my only Candidate, I don’t have to choose! And Morg-san shares that power too, through her Metal Vessel.” Morgiana thumbed at her bracelets bashfully.

 

“Is _that_ what you meant, then, by being able to find your ‘harmonic other’ or whatever, Morgiana?” Alibaba asked, crossing his arms and leaning back.

 

Much to Alibaba’s bewilderment, Morgiana turned a bright shade of red and shook her head vehemently, shoving her arms under the table.

 

“Um, Morgiana?”

 

“Alibaba-kun,” Aladdin started, intending to warn but instead coming out in a smothered laugh.

 

Alibaba knit his eyebrows at him. “What?”

 

Aladdin sighed, then tucked his feet under his legs and leaned onto his thighs with his chin in his hands-

The look on his face was positively _mirthful._

 

“Do you know why so many people wish to see the strings?” he started, carefully trying to nudge Alibaba toward his own revelation.

 

“Uh…. ‘cause they’re pretty, and there’s a giant party?” he said, gesturing around, jumping when a loud couple tripped past them with arms looped in arms, strings bright and warm as blood where they coiled lovingly around their fingers underneath shiny new rings.

 

“There are all kinds of relationships, and usually people flock toward areas of dense Rukh so that they can find a soulmate, or sometimes even missing loved ones,” he said, before pointing to the string around Alibaba’s finger. “So, if yours is around your finger like that couple while mine are around my wrists, what do you think it means?” he led, watching the cogs slowly churn in Alibaba’s head.

 

“Aladdin-” Morgiana mumbled, shaking her head, but Alibaba didn’t register it as he thought.

 

“Oh!” Alibaba snapped his fingers, and Aladdin started. “So, there’re different kinda bonds, right, so that means, like…. romantic relationships?” Alibaba’s face froze and pinked as he replayed his own words, staring dumbly at his hands in shock. “Wait, so-?”

 

_“Hey, watch it!”_

 

A bubble of sound and disruption sent Rukh fluttering uneasily like startled birds and people shifting and whipping around in confusion as wild laughter and flush of dark Rukh scattered through the plaza, and Aladdin swallowed a shocked laugh as he caught sight of the cause for the noise.

 

_“Judar, get back here, NOW!”_ Hakuryuu bellowed, utterly breathless and furious, but there was an almost mortified slide to his Rukh as he tripped after the snickering Magi.

 

Caught by the shifting crowd that Judar weaved through, Hakuryuu was inches away from grabbing him when Judar _literally_ jumped out of his reach, whipping around to float gloatingly over Hakuryuu’s head a good six feet above where he was standing. “You can’t reach me from all the way down there, you know,” he teased, a sharp grin on his face as he leaned forward with his arms crossed, long braid floating behind him.

 

Now with everyone’s attention on them- much to Hakuryuu’s dawning horror and Judar’s utter delight- a single neon strand of gold could be seen as it glowed from where it was braided carefully into Judar’s hair, surprisingly intricate and thoughtful for one strand and a flippant personality, but it was undeniable who it matched as it spiralled down his arm to his fingers and dripped down toward Hakuryuu, marking him in a golden circlet and a matching soulmate strand.

 

(Concerned at the sight of Judar, Sinbad had immediately moved to stand and intervene, only to be clotheslined by an insistent Ja’far, keeping him from moving. “I swear, if you try and stand up, you will make me and _seven other people_ trip- _sit down.”_

 

He sat, and Ja’far rolled his eyes.)

 

“Oh, I _knew_ I should’ve told Kougyoku to keep Judar from coming,” a tired voice came from behind Aladdin’s table, and they turned away from the bickering duo to where Hakuei was sighing, shaking her head. “Hakuryuu’s been off-kilter enough as it is, and I _really_ didn’t want Judar pushing his buttons.”

 

“I think it’s a bit late for that,” Aladdin said, and Hakuei couldn’t hold back a laugh before propping a hand on her hip, making the strand that bound her to her brother spill down her side onto the cobblestone. Another darker string around her wrist pooled at her feet, humming with the energy of a Household Vessel as it borrowed the warmth of her Djinn mark.

 

_“Get. DOWN,”_ Hakuryuu hissed, sharply pointing at the ground, string burning in time to the fluttering Rukh around him as Judar laughed at him. “Judar, you piece of-”

 

_“Nuh-uh,_ you aren’t old enough to use those words, and there are kids nearby,” he hummed, grinning when Hakuryuu fumed.

 

(Hakuei slapped a hand to her face, sighing. Alibaba snickered, and Morgiana hushed him.)

 

“We are in _public,_ so get _down here_ before I-”

 

“Before you what? I wanna hear you say it,” Judar cut off, leaning back as if he was reclining on some invisible object as he crossed his legs dramatically. Exhibitionist and loud, his dark Rukh hummed and chittered around him in pure joy potent enough to vibrate against Aladdin’s skin.

 

Hakuryuu blew out a deep breath, eyes frantically skittering to the curious and gawking eyes staring at them and pointing at their string. His hands clenched into fists, effectively hiding his fingers, and he glared up at Judar, who was yawning. “Just- come back down here,” he tried, but it was meek and stretched thin, embarrassed and burning with the urge to get out of the spotlight.

 

“Like they know who you are, blah blah,” Judar called, raising an eyebrow at Hakuryuu. “You get so flustered about the stupidest things- _relax_ for once! Besides,you seemed so calm earlier for once for about _two seconds,_ so I don’t understand why you’re so mad now.”

 

Hakuryuu’s eyes widened. “Don’t you dare-”

 

“Or _what?”_

 

_“Ugh!”_

 

(“Are they always like this?”

 

“Judar’s always liked to mess with him, even when they were younger, but Hakuryuu’s more riled up about it than usual…”)

 

“What, a mighty Ren can’t handle something as small as a _kiss_ without freaking out?” Judar pressed, raising his voice just enough with a shit-eating grin on his face to watch Hakuryuu freeze. “It coulda been worse, you know.”

 

(Aladdin laughed as Alibaba’s mouth dropped open, and even Morgiana looked surprised.)

 

Hakuryuu opened his mouth, closed it, and then went bright pink, matching the single painfully-telling Rukh that fluttered from his lips like a blooming camellia. He choked and swatted it away as Judar laughed hysterically, ignoring the look of mortified rage as his fingers curled and uncurled.

 

(“Uh oh.”

 

“What is it, Hakuei-san?”

 

“It’s not very often that it comes out, but Hakuryuu’s got a bit of a temper.”

 

“....Oh.” )

 

The next few seconds happened in with an eerie sense of choreography, and Aladdin barely had time to react as Hakuryuu started moving.

 

Pulling at the string with his left hand, he looped around his wrist and then tugged it, before stomping sharply on it to yank Judar’s head back. Judar winced and clapped his hands to his head, a complaint already on his tongue that was swallowed as Hakuryuu’s hand shifted with Life magic and propelled him upward.

 

“Woah, woah, wait, _what are you doing, Hakury-?”_

 

One, two, three- Hakuryuu reached Judar in three steps formed by the roots before _launching_ himself at the Magi with a yell, sending them both plummeting out of the air with a shriek of black and white Rukh around them before they crash-landed into the fountain.

 

Aladdin barely had half the mind to command the Rukh to stabilize the water, keeping everyone from getting drenched.

 

“Holy shit,” Alibaba breathed, and Aladdin only blinked, eyes flickering over to where Hakuei was gaping at the fountain.

 

Eventually, a spluttering and soaked Hakuryuu surfaced, hands shoving himself up from where he’d landed on top of Judar, coughing and swiping a hand across his face. _“Hakuryuu!”_ Hakuei called, loud and scolding as she made her way over to them, and he froze, starting to look over toward her when two hands surged up from the water and snagged the sides of Hakuryuu’s face.

 

Yanking him down to his level, Judar reached up and _soundly_ kissed Hakuryuu, startling a swallowed noise out of him and a chittering flush of dark Rukh.

 

Alibaba laughed out of shock and Morgiana’s eyes went wide, while Aladdin simply kept his smile to himself as he sensed the cautious warmth of Judar’s bond to his King despite the defensive humour and teasing much earlier. (Rukh don’t lie, after all.)

 

Hakuryuu shoved Judar back into the water and clapped his hands over to his face, pink as the Rukh singing around him, and Judar erupted from the water in a fit of hysterical giggles from where he was still trapped under Hakuryuu.

 

“Oh my _god,_ I can’t believe that just happened! _”_ Alibaba snorted, pounding on the table with a fist, and Aladdin shook his head in laughter. Morgiana was blinking, caught halfway between shock and belated understanding. _“Those_ two, are you _serious?”_

 

“Do you see what I mean about different kinds of bonds _now,_ Alibaba-kun?” Aladdin said quietly, a smile perched on his lips as he watched Hakuei prop her hands on her hips and lean down, reaching out a hand to shake her brother’s shoulder. (He flinched when he registered the touch, and the Rukh only darkened in time to his face as he went red enough to make his scar stand out.)

 

“I guess,” Alibaba said, voice quieter than Aladdin expected, and he looked over to see him thumbing carefully at his red string. “I’ll know in time, right?” he asked, looking up at Aladdin with eyes far softer than Aladdin was used to.

 

Aladdin saw Morgiana fidget in the corner of his eye, and he gently nudged her with his foot under the table with a careful smile. “There’s no need to rush it, and even when they fade from view you’ll still be connected to them, no matter what.”

 

Alibaba’s face brightened for a second before it fell. “But…. why don’t I have a string for Kassim? Or my mom? My dad? Was I _ever_ connected to them?”

 

Aladdin bit his lip, mind cruelly replaying the horrid day he watched a string break for the first time. “The strings represent _living_ bonds, Alibaba-kun, so we can gain and lose them as people arrive and leave with the Rukh,” he said gently.

 

_“Oh,”_ Alibaba croaked, and Aladdin immediately reached out to squeeze his hand, before reaching across the table for Morgiana’s with his other hand. Alibaba looked up at the both of them and smiled, squeezing back, and Aladdin translated it to Morgiana, who ducked her head with a smile and a gentle blush.

 

“We’re always gonna be here for you, right? So even when we were far apart, we were still connected,” Aladdin said, and grinned at the warmth that hummed in the glowing string that connected the three of them, shining through his hair and glowing against three different pulse points in beating hearts.

 

“Still here,” Morgiana said, and Alibaba finally laughed, warm and rich, and they joined in, the mismatched family that they were. (Aladdin could feel their heartbeats and their love, and he felt the echo of the souls far away in Reim where he knew Titus could sense his thoughts, and Aladdin closed his eyes and just revelled in the warmth of his bonds.)

 

The moment was broken by Alibaba wheezing and pointing back at the fountain, where Hakuei was hauling a sopping Hakuryuu out of the water. He was rumpled and tugged at his half-undone _hanfu_ where it slid off his shoulder, looking over his shoulder to scowl at Judar as he wrung it out. Judar was still snickering, cross-legged in the water as he leaned over the edge of the fountain with an impish look in his eyes. A gracefully-pointed look from Hakuei had him raising his hands in surrender before clambering out of the basin, harrumphing when he noticed the fall had undone and tangled a good chunk of his soaked hair and scowled at Hakuryuu.

 

The irritation didn’t last for long, though, as Judar flashed him a dark smile when he noticed the half-dressed Hakuryuu, not noticing as Hakuei frantically waved someone over from behind them. Hakuryuu retaliated by smacking Judar with his wet _hanfu,_ eliciting a shriek out of the Magi and a forcible separation by Hakuei before Kougyoku- face bright in shock and worry- intervened, settling herself in between them and scowling.

 

Aladdin bit back a laugh as the two started bickering again, Hakuryuu steadily getting redder and redder the longer they argued, and Kougyoku eventually huffed loudly, snatched both of them by the wrist, and hauled both of them toward the entrance of the plaza without a care even as they stumbled and tripped after her in bright complaint, a flurry of Rukh accompanying them.

 

Hakuei looked over at their table, shaking her head with the smallest of smiles as she raised an eyebrow.

 

Strings and bonds are quite funny after all, Aladdin thought, propping his chin in his hands before looking up at the stars twinkling above them in time to the laughter and dancing surrounding them. In the end, the strings are what you make of them, and he couldn’t be happier that the Rukh had lead him to such a colorful group of people from all over the world.

 

(For even after the sun rose and the Rukh would dissipate, leaving the crowd blind to the strings once more, he would still be by the side of the people he loved the most, and nothing would change that.)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, those who managed to find me!!  
> I hoped you liked it- comments and questions are highly appreciated! 
> 
> The song I listened to for this was Manjushage by Mafumafu, which I found fitting for the party atmosphere!  
> https://youtu.be/r_0HBRb8Uqs


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